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Andrea de Cesaris
Andrea de Cesaris (born May 31, 1959) is an Italian former race car driver. He started 208 races but never won; his is the longest career without a race victory. A string of accidents early in his career earned him the nickname 'Andrea de Crasheris'. Though the nickname stuck, he became a more reliable driver in his later career. In 2005 and 2006 he competed in the Grand Prix Masters formula for retired F1 drivers. Biography 'Pre-Formula One' De Cesaris was born in Rome on May 31, 1959. A multiple karting champion, he graduated to Formula 3 in Britain, winning numerous events before his tendency to make careless mistakes cost him dearly, and he finished 2nd in the championship to Chico Serra. A wheel banging incident with Nigel Mansell broke the Briton's neck, and did little to improve Andrea's wild reputation. From Formula 3, he graduated to Formula 2 with future McLaren boss Ron Dennis' Project 4 team. 'Formula One' 'Alfa Romeo' 1980 In 1980, de Cesaris was then picked up by Alfa Romeo for the final events of the 1980 World Championship, replacing Vittorio Brambilla who had, in turn, replaced Patrick Depailler when he was killed testing at Hockenheim. At just 21 years old, his first race in Canada ended after eight laps because of engine failure. In his second race, at Watkins Glen in the United States, he went off at the Ninety corner on the first lap at the start and crashed into some catch fencing at the Junction corner on lap two. 'McLaren' 1981 However, the pair of races was the start of a 14-year Formula One career, thanks in large part to family connections with the Marlboro cigarette brand. Having ready access to what, for many years, was Formula One's most lavish paymaster helped sustain the Italian's career through some depressing troughs. Only during his time with Ligier and Brabham (as well as his 1993 with Tyrrell) was Andrea's helmet free from the bright red Marlboro chevron. His reputation within the sport was cemented in his early years. Driving for McLaren in 1981, the paddock rumour of the time was he was causing so much damage to his cars that his mechanics refused to repair them. In the 14 races he started crashed or spun off eight times, a single point at Imola was not enough to convince the resurgent McLaren team to keep him on. The one race he did not start, at Zandvoort in Holland, after he qualified 13th his car was withdrawn because the team was worried that he would crash the car again. It was at this point that the nickname "Andrea de Crasheris" was coined. De Cesaris touched wheels with the Alfa Romeo of Mario Andretti at the start of the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix. Both cars retired. In July 1981 de Cesaris and Henri Pescarolo finished second to the team of Riccardo Patrese and Michele Alboreto in a 6-hour endurance race at Watkins Glen, New York. Both teams drove Lancia cars with de Cesaris and Pescarolo finishing two laps behind. 'Alfa Romeo' 1982 - 1983 Moving back to Alfa Romeo in 1982, de Cesaris showed to be more capable than his latest result would have suggested. He became the youngest man ever at that point to take pole position, at the Long Beach Grand Prix. De Cesaris was also only the second Alfa Romeo driver to capture a pole since 1952. But his immaturity was also on display. Lapping the slower car of Raul Boesel, de Cesaris waved his fist wildly, only to miss a gear and let Niki Lauda get past. He crashed out later on the fifth of twelve turns near the midway point of the race. De Cesaris was not injured but flames emanated from the rear of his Alfa Romeo as he climbed out of its battered cockpit. From this point onwards, de Cesaris was nearly always seen by most in the paddock as prone to occasional brilliance but more often than not, erratic behaviour. 1982 saw a podium finish at Monte Carlo and another point in Canada. At the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix Didier Pironi retired on the final lap with electrical trouble on his Ferrari. De Cesaris ran out of fuel at the same point, allowing Riccardo Patrese to win his first Formula 1 race in 71 starts. At the start of the Austrian Grand Prix, de Cesaris, concentrating on trying to pass the car in front of him, veered across the entire width of the track and rammed his teammate Bruno Giacomelli into the wall, taking both out. His reputation began to improve in 1983, when his Alfa Romeo now used a turbo engine. He took two second places to improve on his career-best results - at Hockenheim in the 1983 German Grand Prix. (his first points of the season) and to Riccardo Patrese in the season-closing 1983 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, 9.319 seconds behind. De Cesaris came close to winning at Spa-Francorchamps, after leading for much of the race before a botched pit stop delayed him and a blown engine put him out of the race. 'Ligier' 1984 - 1985 De Cesaris moved to Ligier in 1984, where, despite the car's promising Renault turbo engine, he did not build on his earlier success. He scored only three points during the season. The 1985 season was worse for de Cesaris. A strong fourth place at Monaco showed early promise but the season turned into a dismal one. At the Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring, de Cesaris crashed heavily after 13 laps. He left the track at the Texaco-Chikane, a fast double left-hander. On a corner without tyre walls or armco-barriers, Andrea hit a sloping grass bank still very wet from overnight rain, dug in, and tumbled end over end. He emerge from the wreck covered in mud, but without serious injury. Still stiff and sore, he was off-form in the next race in Holland. Team boss Guy Ligier lost patience and de Cesaris was fired. De Cesaris was in a minor collision with Philippe Alliot on the 10th lap of the 1985 Canadian Grand Prix. Alliot was forced to withdraw his RAM Racing car on the 33rd lap, after he spun into a wall. 'Minardi' 1986 Trying to rebuild his career, in 1986 de Cesaris paid to drive for Italian minnows Minardi. In an overweight car with the underpowered Motori Moderni engine, Andrea did little to improve a fast growing reputation as a blocker when being lapped. Worse still, he was more often than not outpaced by his team mate, fellow Italian and F1 rookie Alessandro Nannini. For the first time in his career, de Cesaris went an entire season without scoring a point. 'Brabham' 1987 At the time, the reason Brabham-BMW took on de Cesaris was said to extend into seven figures, a massive amount of sponsorship for a driver to bring to a team at the time. But it was with the Bernie Ecclestone-owned team that Andrea began to show his raw speed. At the 1987 Belgian Grand Prix, at Spa, Belgium, de Cesaris placed third behind Alain Prost and Stefan Johansson, his first points in nearly two years. He wouldn't finish another race that season. He usually qualified well, but the super-powerful BMW turbo would often end its races by exploding in flames, making a consistent points haul impossible. 'Rial' 1988 For 1988 Brabham pulled out of Formula One and de Cesaris was again looking for a new home. He found it at the new Rial team, run by volatile German Gunter Schmidt, the former boss of the ATS outfit. The car was extremely slimline, with de Cesaris looking awfully exposed. But, with Cosworth power and brave driving, Andrea often qualified well, and took an outstanding fourth place in the Detroit Grand Prix. He also twice ran out of fuel in the last laps while running in the points, in Canada and Australia. 'BMS Scuderia Italia' 1989 - 1990 For 1989, de Cesaris moved to a team where he looked most at home: the red and white Marlboro-sponsored Dallara squad. Early results were again promising. A Monaco expert, Andrea was on course for a podium position in Monte Carlo, before being taken out by triple world champion Nelson Piquet at the Lowes Hairpin. De Cesaris lost his cool in a massive way. As the cars were locked together, he screamed and waved wildly, before berating Piquet's Lotus team upon returning to the pits. Two races later it was Andrea's turn to play the villain. After an early delay he was being lapped by Dallara team-mate Alex Caffi when he ran his fellow Italian into the wall, robbing the team of another podium. He made amends at the next race in Canada, finishing third behind Williams drivers Thierry Boutsen and Riccardo Patrese in a rain-soaked race. It would be the last time de Cesaris stood on the Formula One podium. Dallara's promise wasn't repeated in 1990. With a number of teams now using either Ford or Judd customer V8s, the midfield had become much tighter. He was involved in a number of hairy incidents during that season, including crashing out at the start of the first lap at Interlagos, and at Imola, he forced off Alessandro Nannini during practice at Curva Villeneuve and the Italian shunted his Benetton, and was lucky to escape unhurt. He also nearly took off 2nd-placed Nigel Mansell while being lapped during the race. Reliability was a problem, and he again failed to score a point all season, even failing to qualify for the German Grand Prix. 'Jordan' 1991 It seemed after a decade of erratic endeavour that the writing was finally on the wall for Andrea de Cesaris. Dumped for JJ Lehto at Dallara, he was signed by Eddie Jordan for his team's first season in Formula One. Always a talent spotter, Jordan had run de Cesaris in Formula 3, but was typically direct in his reason for signing the Italian: experience and Marlboro money. The Jordan 191 was one of the most striking and attractive cars seen in Formula One. Its beauty was complemented by its mechanical simplicity and speed. Sadly at the season's first race in Phoenix de Cesaris selected the wrong gear in the short pre-qualifying session, buzzed the engine and was out. That result was no indication of what was to come. De Cesaris was again strong at Monaco, forcing his way past the Benetton of Roberto Moreno and was running in the points when the Jordan's throttle cable snapped. In the next race in Canada he delivered finishing a strong fourth. De Cesaris then rebuffed anyone who thought this was a fluke by repeating the result next time out in Mexico. The following race in France he finished sixth. Suspension failure in Great Britain led to a massive crash but the Italian bounced back to qualify seventh and finish fifth in Germany. He did not score again after this midseason purple patch, but his day of days came during the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Franchorchamps. The Belgian circuit is widely recognised as the greatest test of driver skill in modern racing. It was a place de Cesaris has always excelled. Despite the pressure of being outqualified by debutant team-mate Michael Schumacher de Cesaris was on a mission all weekend. While Schumacher's inexperience resulted in a burned out clutch on lap one, de Cesaris moved through the field to take second position. He was in second position when his car's Ford HB V8 blew. A communication problem between Ford and the Jordan team meant the oil tank in the car was too small to service a new type of piston ring which used more lubricant. de Cesaris finished the season 9th in the standings was his best since 1983, and it was more than anybody expected of the package. His speed had never been in doubt, but de Cesaris was now driving with his head much more than his heart, and a restraint that had been missing during much of his first ten years in Formula One. A fast and friendly car helped, but Andrea's new-found maturity behind the wheel was now in no doubt. 'Tyrrell' 1992 - 1993 Despite Eddie Jordan's desire to keep de Cesaris for the 1992 season, financial realities meant it wasn't possible. Jordan had built up significant debts in his debut season. He was able to secure sponsorship from Barclay Cigarettes, but the brand was in direct conflict with Andrea's Marlboro backing. Something had to give, and the Italian left the team where he'd driven his strongest season yet. Ken Tyrrell was quick to snap up Andrea and his sponsorship and his faith was quickly repaid when de Cesaris took a fifth in the second race of the season in Mexico. The drive was spectacular. After being caught up in early spin, he battled through the field, even slip-streaming past the factory Ferrari of Jean Alesi. The Ilmor V-10 powered Tyrrell 020 was a handy machine, and de Cesaris was in the points three more times during the season culminating in an impressive fourth place in the Japanese Grand Prix. 1993 was very different. The Ilmor engine had been replaced with free Yamaha V10s which changed the dynamics and reliability of the car. The 020 was by then very old and was replaced mid-season by the 021. This car, featuring active suspension, was not a success. For the third time in his career, de Cesaris failed to score a point and left Tyrrell at the end of the season. 'Jordan & Sauber' 1994 In 1994, for the first time since 1980, de Cesaris started the season without a Formula One drive. Talks with several small teams came to nothing and as the circus left for Brazil, Andrea was on the sidelines. But it was an event during the Brazilian Grand Prix that revived his career. Irishman Eddie Irvine was blamed for starting a massive accident which saw Jos Verstappen barrel roll over the top of Martin Brundle. On appeal, Irvine was banned for three races. At the Pacific Grand Prix, Aguri Suzuki drove Irvine's vacated Jordan. But for the next race, the San Marino Grand Prix, Eddie Jordan brought de Cesaris back to the team where he had earned his best results back three seasons earlier. The return didn't start well when de Cesaris wrote off a chassis during testing. He crashed again during the tragic event at Imola due to poor fitness having not driven a race distance in six months. But, ever the Monaco specialist, he bounced back in Monte Carlo. In a mature drive, de Cesaris stayed away from trouble and away from the barriers to take a superb fourth place. Irvine returned for the next race but Sauber had noticed the Italian's form, and signed him to replace the injured Karl Wendlinger in the Mercedes-powered machines. Andrea's first race for Sauber was his 200th Grand Prix in Canada. Although he retired after 24 laps, he was again in the points at the next event, the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. However the emergency changes to technical regulations made the Sauber a handful to drive. The career of Andrea de Cesaris then ended much as it began, when he retired with throttle problems during his last race, the 1994 European Grand Prix. After this, Sauber kept his promise to return the car to Karl Wendlinger if he was fit enough. In the end he wasn't, but de Cesaris was unreachable on holiday, so JJ Lehto replaced him for the final two Grands Prix. De Cesaris ended his career second all-time in Grand Prix starts with 208, behind only Riccardo Patrese. Complete World Championship Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position / Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Category:Alfa Romeo Drivers Category:Brabham Drivers Category:Drivers Category:Italian Drivers Category:Jordan Drivers Category:McLaren Racing Drivers Category:Minardi Drivers Category:Rial Drivers Category:Sauber F1 Drivers Category:Tyrrell Drivers Category:Ligier Drivers Category:Scuderia Italia Drivers